title: Cerebral air embolism following pigtail catheter insertion for pleural fluid drainage.
abstract: Pigtail catheter drainage is a common procedure for the treatment of pleural effusion and pneumothorax. The most common complications of pigtail catheter insertion are pneumothorax, hemorrhage and chest pains. Cerebral air embolism is rare, but often fatal. In this paper, we report a case of cerebral air embolism in association with the insertion of a pigtail catheter for the drainage of a pleural effusion. A 67-year-old man is being presented with dyspnea, cough and right-side chest pains and was administered antibiotics for the treatment of pneumonia. The pneumonia failed to resolve and a loculated parapneumonic pleural effusion developed. A pigtail catheter was inserted in order to drain the pleural effusion, which resulted in cerebral air embolism. The patient was administered high-flow oxygen therapy and recovered without any neurologic complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanmaeum Hospital, Changwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Sa Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hyun Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.forename: Ji-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Sang-Heon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Tae Hyung
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jang Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Dong Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Sung Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Ho Joo
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
keywords: Chest Tubes; Embolism, Air; Pleural Effusion